


A Melody of Want and Need

by seltehryor



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Gen, M/M, musician au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 10:45:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4098049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seltehryor/pseuds/seltehryor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim Kirk is an up-and-coming singer when his friend, Bones, invites him to karaoke night, where he meets another singer named Spock. This is their story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. As Good a Time as Any

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is inspired by "Clarity" by Zedd and "Come & Get It" by Selena Gomez; I was listening to the radio one day when it hit me how "Clarity" is a perfect Spock song and "Come & Get It" is a perfect Kirk song, and then a singer AU was born. Supported and edited by the lovely sherlockian-of-the-shire over on tumblr!

The apartment feels empty, Jim Kirk muses, as he idly picks out a melody on the piano with his right and the harmony with his left. He's wrapped in a blanket from his closet, because the heat's gone out again and San Francisco is cold when it wants to be, at 7 am, and he has nothing better to do than self-destruct. His career is going well, he has plenty of friends, but the cramped look of the space he's living in- books piled on tables and falling off shelves, sheet music crammed into every available cranny, dirty dishes in the sink- only serves to remind him of how alone he is. Jim laughs without humor. At least Bones hasn't given up on him yet.

"Dammit, man, don't you ever do anything besides play that infernal instrument?" Bones hollers from the front door. Jim smiles in spite of himself.

"Good morning to you too, Bones!" he calls cheerfully from his perch on the piano bench. "Did you bring caffeine?" Bones passes him a steaming cup, grumbling about early birds and Jim's "annoying predilection for music at ungodly hours".

"If you're awake enough to use words like predilection, you have no reason to be so grumpy," Kirk fake-whines into his coffee. At Bones's grunt, he looks back up to where his friend has seated himself on the sofa across the room and smirks; it doesn't look like Bones slept at all last night.

"Alright, kid, enough." Bones, also known as Leonard McCoy, leans back and puts an arm along the back of the sofa. "You're getting out of this hole you call an apartment tonight and coming to karaoke with me, Nyota, and a bunch of her friends." Jim's shoulders had visibly straightened at the mention of karaoke, but now he's staring at the floor.

"I don't know, Bones. Nyota and I didn't exactly hit it off when we met."

"You never hit it off with anyone, kid; that's why you have me. Besides, it's going to be a couple of us. Sulu, Chekov, and Scotty are gonna be there, plus some guy named Spock. Supposedly an amazing singer but I've never heard the guy." 

The mention of Spock piques Jim's interest, and he scrunches up his nose as he thinks.

"Wait, I think I've heard of that Spock guy..." Suddenly he grins and jumps to his feet. "Ok, Bones, I'll go. Just promise me you'll let me do karaoke."

"Fine, fine, fine," Leonard acquiesces, with a bluster that's obviously hiding relief. "I'll pick you up at 5." He stands up and starts to walk out the door before turning and firing one last verbal shot. "And I want to see you dressed in something other than ratty jeans and a Nirvana t-shirt!"

Jim just laughs, for real this time, and begins to clean up his apartment. He has to find some way to spend the day until 5, after all. He might as well be productive.

* * *

"Nyota, I am unsure of whether or not spending my evening at a bar with people I do not know well is a good use of my time." Spock shifts the phone closer to his ear with his shoulder as he grabs and pays for his lunch. "It does not sound like an amenable suggestion." He can hear a sigh from across the connection as Nyota rustles through what sounds suspiciously like her closet.

"Spock, honey, I know you aren't big on social events, but I'm dragging you to this one whether you like it or not. Sulu and Chekov will be there, and so will Scotty, and Bones is bringing his friend Jim. Jim Kirk. He's an up-and-coming singer too; you might have heard of him."

Spock raises an eyebrow in contemplation as he walks back to his apartment.

"I believe I have heard of him, but I fail to see why that is motivation for my attendance at karaoke tonight."

Nyota's inevitable eye roll is almost audible.

"5 pm. I'll pick you up at 4:45. Oh, and wear something besides a suit, okay?"

Spock hears a click as Nyota hangs up, and he puts his phone down on his counter as he moves towards his bedroom. It seems as though he has a social event tonight, and he has no idea what to wear.

* * *

Jim, dressed in a pair of dark jeans that hit in all the right places, a slim white V-neck, and his favorite dark brown leather jacket, looks around the bar before spotting Chekov's wild mess of curls at a far table, and he heads over dragging Bones behind him. Nyota sees him first and waves.

"Hello, Nyota!" he calls, grinning and waving in return. He gets a nod of acknowledgement before her attention switches to his friend and her eyes light up.

"Hey, Bones!" She gets up to give Leonard a quick hug before stepping back and doing a quick introduction. "Everyone, James Tiberius Kirk; Jim, everyone. I think you know everyone here but Spock." She gestures to the tall, thin male sitting at the edge of the circle, wearing dark jeans and a plaid button-down with the first two buttons open, and the man looks up at the sound of his name before standing and shaking Kirk's hand.

"Pleased to meet you," Spock intones, voice deep and smooth. The voice of a singer, and a damn good one too, if his talking voice is any indication. Jim smiles and returns the handshake.

"The pleasure is all mine," he says, watching Spock's eyes widen marginally as he talks. "I heard you're a singer too?"

"Indeed. I also play the guitar." Spock inches forward slightly on the second sentence, looking like he is trying to memorize the layout of Kirk's mouth and eyes. Jim just smirks slightly before leaning forward- hey, the guy's attractive and a singer; he can't help himself- and licking his lips.

"I play the piano," he rumbles, and Spock's tongue darts out to wet his lips. Before either of them can say anything else, though, Sulu slaps Kirk on the back, exclaiming about how long it's been since he's seen him and how's the career going, and Kirk pulls away from Spock to join in the group's conversation, taking a seat between Sulu, who is attached at the hip to Chekov as usual, and Bones, who is bickering with Scotty about the pros and cons of space exploration. The next couple hours or so passes in a parade of drinks, food, and friendly chatter that Kirk sometimes participates in but sometimes just listens to. Spock does much the same, occasionally debating with Chekov about some math concept that Kirk has never heard of but mostly observing.

Then, around 8, karaoke begins.

* * *

"I do not-"

"Oh come on, Spock! You have to do it!" Nyota pleads as everyone murmurs their assent. "Just one song!"

Spock relents and nods his agreement.

"Very well. One song."

Everyone at the table cheers, a few more drunk than not, and Spock makes his way up to the stage to choose a song.

After listening to a few very obviously non-singers blunder their way through, Kirk is relieved to see Spock get on stage with the mic. If this guy was as good as he'd heard, he might have to get him up there for another song. The song Spock had picked earlier is "Tiptoe "by Imagine Dragons (good band, Kirk thinks) and Jim is expecting good, but halfway through the first stanza he's already spellbound by Spock's voice, the way he glides seamlessly between notes, the raw emotion hiding just underneath the surface of his performance, how he grips the mic, and the song ends before Jim can school his brain back into some semblance of cognitive thoughts other than "Wow."

Spock gets back to the table after the crowd stops jostling and clapping and Nyota gives him a high-five and a small "I told you so!", Scotty nods, and Sulu grins at him. Kirk walks up to him, gives him a firm handshake and a pat in the back before leaning in and saying, "Spock, that was the best karaoke I've heard in my life," then sauntering towards the stage, but not without seeing the slight blush that spread across Spock's cheeks. Good, Jim thought. Spock deserves all the praise he gets. Right now, however, he needs to choose a song. Hm, Capital Cities or Pink Floyd...

He decides on "Safe and Sound" by Capital Cities, which isn't as upbeat as some of the stuff he usually sings but he loves it anyway, and right before he starts he makes eye contact with Bones, who nods and gives him a thumbs-up. Jim smiles, and begins to perform.

At some point he becomes aware of the expressive silence hanging over the room, but by then he's too lost in the music to really care. He spots Spock towards the end of the song, and the look on the other man's face- shock, but the good kind- pushes him to pour everything into the last handful of seconds, only pulling away from the mic once the last note has died. The bar is full of people clapping and cheering, and his friends are going nuts at their table, but it's Spock's reaction that really leaves an impact. Spock looks stunned, but he has the barest hint of a smile on his face and he's clapping and right then Jim decides this is someone he wants to be friends with no matter what.

He returns to the table and everyone tells him how amazing he sounded, and Spock leans forward to whisper, "I'm impressed. You're very good," which doesn't help his already inflated ego. Nyota silences everyone with a wave of her hand. "

You two should battle sometime," she says, pointing at Jim and and then at Spock, her hand slightly shaky from the beers she just had. "You're both really, really good."

When Jim turns to look at Spock, there's a dangerous glint in his eyes that wasn't there earlier, but Jim recognizes it as competition.

"Why not now?" he asks, before his brain catches up with his body and he cringes. Surprisingly, though, Spock nods.

"I concur. Now is as good a time as any," he concludes, and stands up to go pick another song.

The rest of the night passes with the Spock and Kirk singing song after song, sometimes classic rock, sometimes indie, sometimes pop, until they're the only two still on their feet, and they sing a few more numbers each before deciding, upon mutual agreement, that it's time to head home. When they get back to their table and Jim pulls Bones to his feet, he feels a warm, callused hand slide into his own for a fraction of a second, leaving behind a small slip of paper that he shoves in his back pocket before waving goodbye to everyone and thanking Spock for the first real karaoke battle he's had since high school. Spock merely smiles with his eyes and thanks him likewise before leaving with Nyota and Scotty, who are hanging onto each other and giggling, in tow. 

* * *

When Jim finally gets back to his apartment, he remembers the slip of paper and pulls it out of his jeans. It's Spock's name and number, along a note. "I would be interested in meeting for coffee sometime to discuss music. Call me when you are free." He smiles, a real smile that takes its time developing, before grabbing his phone and programming Spock into his contacts.

The next time he has an afternoon to spare, he's planning on taking Spock up on his offer.


	2. Of Coffee Dates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to sherlockian-of-the-shire for helping me figure out their drink orders and catching my autocorrect-induced mistakes!

Three days later, Spock is jerked out of his reverie by the sound of his phone vibrating insistently from across the room. He stands up to retrieve it, just in case it is his father or Nyota, but instead it is a call from a number he does not recognize. He picks up hesitantly, and is relieved to hear a familiar voice on the other end.

"Spock!" the person exclaims. "How are you? Look, I have the afternoon free today, so I was thinking maybe we could meet up at a coffee shop or something near where you live just to chat."

"Hello, James," Spock answers, with no small amount of bemusement, which he suspects is obvious to the man on the other end. "I am well. I am also free today, and I would welcome spending a few hours with you. There is a Starbucks at the corner of my street; I can text you the directions now that I have your number."

Kirk's chagrin at not realizing Spock wouldn't recognize his number is almost palpable, but he chuckles and agrees to meet at the coffee shop in one hour. Spock had not actually expected to receive a call from James Kirk; in fact, he has previously believed it to be foolish to entertain the notion. Now, however, he has been proven incorrect.

There had been something about Kirk when they had met that had drawn Spock to him, even as he wrote him off as an overly confident, rude, stereotypical blond, and when Kirk had sung Spock knew what it was. Kirk was overly confident, and he could be rude, but underneath he knew his craft, he was good at it, and he was practically overflowing with emotions. His singing had been full of nuances in tone and inflection that had left Spock awestruck, and he has decided this was a man he wanted to get to know better. It seems as though he will get his wish, Spock thinks wryly. After all, they are meeting for coffee in approximately fifty-two minutes and twenty seconds. 

* * *

Kirk enters the Starbucks, orders his grande caramel frappuccino (with extra whip, because he has been obsessed with whipped cream since he was in kindergarten), and makes his way over to the table where he can see Spock sitting, scrolling through something on his phone. Spock must have been early, Kirk thinks, because I'm on time, for once. When he approaches the table, Spock looks up and waves him over, gesturing to the seat across from him with the hand holding his grande java chip frappuccino, sans whip but topped with little chocolate shavings, and Kirk sits.

"So," he begins, sounding way more sure of himself than he is, "how'd you first get into singing?"

Spock gets a wistful look on his face before sipping his drink and answering.

"My mother was in chorus all through school, and she majored in music education in college. She went on to be a music teacher in primary schools." He sighs. "My earliest memories are of her singing as she made my lunch, and when she died in a traffic accident I turned to music to comfort me. It's the last connection I have to her." Spock's eyes are misty, and Kirk can feel answering tears well up in his own eyes.

"How did you begin singing, James?"

Kirk smiles.

"Call me Jim, Spock. And, well, I started singing because of my dad." He looks away for a moment before continuing. "He died in a college shooting the day I was born. Stopped the gunman, though, so I guess that's good. He was a singer, and he had been visiting this college that day to give lessons to some of the chorus classes. His death tore my mother apart." He laughs, but it has no real enjoyment in it, and looks down at his drink. "Everyone always tells me I'm a lot like him. I guess I just naturally gravitated towards singing, like father like son and all of that, and I enjoy it. It's a challenge, you know? Making every song different from the last? I've always been a sucker for challenges." He stops and shoots a glance up to Spock. "I'm sorry. My life story is pretty boring."

"No, Ja-Jim. It explains a lot about your singing." Jim cocks an eyebrow, and Spock sits forward in his chair. "At the bar, I noticed that your singing seemed to be sitting on the surface of a turbulent emotional state, and every so often it would show in your performance. It was fascinating how much emotion you could put in a single note, and how pure it would be."

Kirk nods.

"Yeah, singing reminds me of my dad, and so there's a lot of emotions involved with it. You were fantastic too." He almost giggles at Spock's disbelieving eyebrow, but he maintains his composure and hurries to explain himself. "Your voice is just stunning, and you seemed to be expressing a lot that wasn't obvious. The best way I can phrase it is that you had a polished quality about you, but nothing ever seemed planned. Every change in inflection or tone or rhythm was spontaneous, but not frantic." He stops to sip his drink. "I, for one, was absolutely floored by it."

He can see a slight blush on Spock's cheeks as he replies with a "Thank you, Jim", and the conversation turns onto other topics. They sit at the shop for until closing time, talking about music and school and their friends and life, before parting ways and making plans to meet again the next week.

* * *

Before either of them are fully cognizant of it happening, their weekly coffee meetings become bi-weekly day-long discussions at different coffee shops all around the city, and infrequent calls turn into daily texts. They meet with Sulu, Chekov, Bones, Scotty, and Nyota when all of them are free to go back to the bar and sing until the wee hours of the morning, which is almost once a week. Kirk knows what drink Spock prefers in different kinds of weather, and Spock knows what shirt Jim wears when he's had a rough few days. Spock listens to Kirk ramble for five hours after he breaks up with his most recent boyfriend, and Kirk goes over to Spock's apartment with sappy movies and chicken noodle soup on the anniversary of his mom's death. Bones begins to ask Kirk about his "unofficial boyfriend", and Nyota smiles at Spock and says how happy she is that he has found "a true soulmate". Spock's glasses end up in Kirk's closet one day and Jim won't return them, so Spock steals a pair of shoes in retaliation. They know all of each other's favorite bands and send each other excited emails with too many emoticons when tour dates are released.

Looking back, what happens at the next karaoke night is no surprise.


	3. Not Just Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again to sherlockian-of-the-shire for her patience and editing skills!

They're sitting at their usual table near the back of the bar, laughing about something Scotty said, when Kirk stands up and announces that he has a song he's been dying to sing, and maybe they'll finally have it available as an option now that it's all over the radio. Spock elects to go with him to the front, and they head off, jabbering about current music and its shortcomings. Sulu shakes his head.

"Do they think they're being subtle?" he asks. "Because if so, then they're either blind or stupid."

Nyota laughs softly, her eyes sparkling.

"They do. It's just a matter of time, though. They can't remain oblivious forever."

Bones grunts and shifts his beer to the other hand.

"I've never seen Kirk this infatuated with anyone, not even the girl he was thinking about proposing to a few years back. He talks about Spock constantly. It's all Spock this and Spock that." He takes a swig of his beer. "Dammit, man, I'm a medical student, not a relationship counselor!"

Scotty nods, raising his scotch, and Chekov giggles into his hand.

"Shut up, guys, Jim's about to sing." Nyota elbows Scotty, and the table falls silent.

When Kirk gets on stage, he's more nervous than any of them have ever seen him, but he gives the group a curt nod and soft smile before beginning. In a strange shift from his usual style of music, he starts singing "Come & Get It," and by the second stanza he finds his groove, but Nyota notices that his focus isn't the audience.

In fact, it seem to be Spock's general location.

When she realizes this, she whispers to Scotty, who nudges Sulu, who talks to Chekov, who mentions it to Bones, who turns to Nyota for confirmation. She inclines her head, and Bones's eyes widen fractionally before darting to Jim and then to Spock. He is the first to notice Spock's expression, and he frantically gestures towards the edge of the stage. Instead of looking confused, or stony, or even calculating, like they all expect, Spock looks...coy.

None of them see Spock dart off to the side, but all of them notice when Spock comes back after Kirk is done singing and briefly touches Jim's arm. The gesture, plus the words that accompany it, seem to have a calming effect on Jim, and he turns around to take Spock's earlier place facing the stage. Even though he looks less nervous than before, he is still tapping his hand against his leg and looking around the room instead of focusing on the stage, and it takes a moment for his friends to realize why from their spot in the rear of the bar.

Spock is on stage now, and he's looking right at Jim.

* * *

Jim Kirk is frantic. He knew he was taking a big risk with his last song, especially how he sang it; singers can generally tell when a song is aimed at them, and Spock is no exception. It had gone on long enough, though. The friendly touches and the constant texting and the chats about the future and the comparison charts of bands and the flirting. They had been skirting the edge of "something more" for too long, and Kirk had been about to burst with restrained emotion. Then he had heard that song on the radio driving back from Zach's house, and it had hit a chord, surprisingly. He had been debating singing it for two weeks now, until he had finally caved to his instincts. He only hopes he made the right decision.

* * *

Spock is, well, relieved, as much as he hates to use the very emotional term. Communication is not his strength, he admits, but music is, and he has been attempting to determine a method of moving his relationship with Jim to the "next level" for two weeks, three days, and fifteen hours. Jim's obvious intent in the last song had opened up an avenue for Spock to return the communication in a format he is substantially more comfortable employing: singing. He takes a deep breath, and commences. 

* * *

It takes Scotty a moment to recognize the song, but when he does he understands what is happening. Both of his friends are singers, and that's how they speak about their thoughts and feelings, that's how they've always spoken, and Spock's choice of "Clarity" makes perfect sense in answer to Jim's choice of song. He doesn't say anything to the others, they'd freak out and spoil the moment, but he hides a smile behind his hand. If tonight doesn't snap them out of their illusion of "just friends," then nothing will. 

* * *

When Spock exits the stage, Jim is waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs with a hug and a pat on the back. They weave their way back towards their friends, who gush about how raw and inspiring their performances were but refuse to make eye contact, and they laugh and order more drinks. The rest of the night is spent talking, joking, and sometimes singing, until they all bid farewell to the group, leaving Jim and Spock alone at the table.

"Come on, I'll walk you home," Jim offers, standing up and holding out a hand. "I think we have a few things to discuss, anyway."

Spock smiles and shakes his head, but takes the offered hand anyway.

"Indeed we do, Jim. Indeed we do."

Kirk notices, as they walk out the door, that Spock still hasn't let go of his hand.

Nyota and Scotty giggle from their observation post outside the door when Spock and Jim walk by holding hands and engaged in what appears to be an enthralling discussion. Nyota makes a silent vow to call Spock in the morning and glean the details, and Scotty mentally promises to call Bones to tell him of the new developments. He'll be thrilled that "Jim and that hobgoblin have finally had an adult discussion like normal people."

* * *

Jim wakes up to a warm hand across his waist and his phone vibrating insistently on the nightstand. He almost drops it as he picks it up, but catches it before it decides to become acquainted with the carpet and answers on the third ring.

"Jesus, kid, where are you? I've been calling your apartment for the last hour and you haven't picked up!" 

Kirk winces. Bones sounds upset.

"What time is it, Bones?"

"You mean you aren't awake yet? It's nine am!"

"Well, I wasn't awake until you rudely interrupted my very nice dream, thank you." 

Bones huffs.

"Look, Jim, where are you? I'm worried."

Kirk covers a yawn with his hand and burrows closer to the warmth emanating from the other occupant of the bed.

"At Spock's. After you all left the bar last night, we-" He's cut off by a bang and a loud curse.

"You mean to tell me you spent the night with Spock?" Bones is practically yelling by the end, and the arm around Kirk's waits tightens.

"Yes, I did, and if you have a problem with that I'd appreciate you telling me now," Kirk snaps. He has better things to do than listen to Bones whine. Apparently his friend can hear it in his voice, because McCoy gives a soft exhale and softens his tone.

"No, I don't have a problem with it. I'm glad you two finally grew some and admitted your feelings." Another exhale. "Are you really happy with him, Jim?" Kirk smiles.

"Yeah, Bones, I really am. Now stop worrying about me and go bug some other poor soul."

Bones laughs.

"Ok, kid. Take care. And if you come complaining to me tomorrow with some STD-"

"Bye!" Kirk yells into the receiver, before hitting end and throwing his phone somewhere not within arm's reach. The man behind him nuzzles a little closer and rests his chin on Kirk's shoulder.

"How is the esteemable Leonard McCoy this morning?"

Jim laughs, a real laugh full of joy and light, and rolls over so he that he is face to face with Spock.

"Grumpy as always, and a bit worried that I wasn't answering my apartment phone." He makes a face. "Though why he expects me to be awake at nine and answering my apartment phone is beyond my comprehension. If I'm up at nine, usually I'm out getting caffeine."

Spock's eyes glint with suppressed amusement, and he reaches over Jim to pick up his phone. He raises an eyebrow at the screen- Nyota appears to have heard the news- before Jim snatches the phone away to toss it halfway out the door.

"You can check your texts later," he mumbles into Spock's shoulder. "I'm not planning on acknowledging the outside world until eleven at the earliest, and don't even point out that I already have by answering my phone; it was Bones, and he doesn't count." Spock hides his grin in Kirk's hair. "So I'm yours for a two whole hours."

"Fascinating," Spock replies, flipping them so that he's lying on top of Jim. "I might have a few ideas..."

* * *

After that night, Nyota notices, very little actually changes. They still talk constantly, they still meet for coffee, they still go out to karaoke night, and they still act infuriatingly oblivious. That's why they are so perfect for each other, she thinks while watching them sing a duet. They were friends from the beginning, and love hasn't altered their friendship.

Onstage, the two of them finish their song and wave to the audience before walking off and heading towards what has become their little group's table. They take a seat and fall easily into the good-natured teasing taking place.

Underneath the table, Spock slowly intertwines Kirk's hand with his own, and Jim gives Spock's hand a squeeze before turning back to their friends.


End file.
